The proliferation and differentiation of skeletal muscle stem cells are enhanced in a bioreactor.

Skeletal muscle (SKM) is the largest organ in mammalian body and it can repair damages by using the residential myogenic stem cells (MuSC), but this repairing capacity reduces with age and in some genetic muscular dystrophy. Under these circumstances, artificial amplification of autologous MuSC in vitro might be necessary to repair the damaged SKM. The amplification of MuSC is highly dependent on myogenic signals, such as sonic hedgehog (Shh), Wnt3a, and fibroblast growth factors, so formulating an optimum myogenic kit composed of specific myogenic signals might increase the proliferation and differentiation of MuSC efficiently.

Development of a multifunctional bioreactor to evaluate the promotion effects of cyclic stretching and electrical stimulation on muscle differentiation.

A multifunctional bioreactor was fabricated in this study to investigate the facilitation efficiency of electrical and mechanical stimulations on myogenic differentiation. This bioreactor consisted of a highly stretchable conductive membrane prepared by depositing polypyrrole (PPy) on a flexible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film. The tensile deformation of the PPy/PDMS membrane can be tuned by adjusting the channel depth.

Comparison of Peripheral Blood Inflammatory Indices in Patients with Neovascular Age-related Macular Degeneration and Haemorrhagic Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy.

Purpose: To compare the differences in peripheral blood inflammatory indices between patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and haemorrhagic polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).

Methods: Retrospective, best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), were analysed across the nAMD, PCV and normal control (NCG) groups of patients. The ratios' cut-off values for nAMD were calculated.

Experimental demonstration of noncontact vital-sign measurement using pulse radar.

Backgroud: Recently, monitoring the vital-sign with the noncontact method is a popular technology.

Objective: In this work, we present a fully pulse radar system including front-end sensing and back-end data processing. A series of ultra-wide band sensing pulses is generated and radiated to detect the subject's chest vibration which in turn obtains the required vital-sign signals.

Alginate/polycaprolactone composite fibers as multifunctional wound dressings.

We developed a composite wound dressing that provides multifunctional wound care. Alginate and polycaprolactone (PCL) were coelectrospun as composite fibers. Highly absorbent alginate provided a moist environment for wounds and PCL increased cell adhesion.

The Development of Polylactic Acid/Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes/Polyethylene Glycol Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Regeneration Application.

Composite electrospun fibers were fabricated to develop drug loaded scaffolds to promote bone tissue regeneration. Multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were incorporated to polylactic acid (PLA) to strengthen electrospun nanofibers. To modulate drug release behavior, different ratios of hydrophilic polyethylene glycol (PEG) were added to composite fibers.

Electrical Field-Assisted Gene Delivery from Polyelectrolyte Multilayers.

To sustain gene delivery and elongate transgene expression, plasmid DNA and cationic nonviral vectors can be deposited through layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly to form polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs). Although these macromolecules can be released for transfection purposes, their entanglement only allows partial delivery. Therefore, how to efficiently deliver immobilized genes from PEMs remains a challenge.

A novel antimicrobial peptide-derived vehicle for oligodeoxynucleotide delivery to inhibit TNF-α expression.

Indolicidin (IL), an antimicrobial peptide, was investigated as a vehicle to promote oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) delivery. To increase charge density, IL was dimerized by adding a cysteine to its C or N terminus, which was denoted as ILC or CIL, respectively. In contrast to IL, cytotoxicity of ILC and CIL was significantly reduced because these dimeric peptides were longer than IL, which restricted their insertions to cell membrane.

The enrichment of cancer stem cells using composite alginate/polycaprolactone nanofibers.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are potential platforms to high-throughput screen anti-cancer drugs. However, they are difficult to isolate from cancer cells. Therefore, we proposed to fabricate 3-D scaffolds for CSC enrichment.

The effects of substrate-mediated electrical stimulation on the promotion of osteogenic differentiation and its optimization.

To explore the effect of electrical stimulation (ES) on osteogenesis, a polypyrrole (PPy)-made electrical culture system was developed to provide a direct-current electric field (DCEF). This DCEF device was applied to treat differentiated rat bone marrow stromal cells (rBMSCs) once in different stages of osteo-differentation to investigate its temporal effects. The mineralization results showed that the DCEF treatment not only accelerated cell differentiation but also promoted the saturation levels, and the ES on day 8 was the group demonstrated the optimal result.

The conjugation of indolicidin to polyethylenimine for enhanced gene delivery with reduced cytotoxicity.

Indolicidin (IL), a cationic peptide derived from bovine neutrophils, was grafted onto polyethylenimine (PEI) to investigate the potential of these conjugates as nonviral vectors. To specifically control the conjugation sites, a cysteine residue was added to the C or N terminus of IL, which was denoted as ILC or CIL, respectively. In addition, an IL-derived hydrophilic peptide, SAP10, was also applied for conjugation.

Gene immobilization on alginate/polycaprolactone fibers through electrophoretic deposition to promote in situ transfection efficiency and biocompatibility.

Alginate and polycaprolactone (PCL) were coelectrospun as composite nanofibers for in situ transfection, in which anionic alginate fibers were used to adsorb polyethyleneimine (PEI)/DNA polyplexes and biocompatible PCL fibers were applied to promote cell adhesion. To improve gene immobilization, direct-current electric field (DCEF) was applied to guide cationic polyplexes toward nanofibers on cathode. Fluorescent labeling experiments suggested that the applied DCEF not only accelerated but also increased the saturation levels of gene immobilization.

The control of alginate degradation to dynamically manipulate scaffold composition for in situ transfection application.

In this study, nanofibrous scaffolds were used for in situ transfection application. Polyethylenimine (PEI)/DNA complexes adsorbed to alginate nanofibers, so the more alginate fibers resulted in the higher transfection efficiency. However, alginate was not favorable for cell adhesion.

A stretchable conductive Polypyrrole Polydimethylsiloxane device fabricated by simple soft lithography and oxygen plasma treatment.

This paper reports a simple method used to fabricate a stretchable conductive polypyrrole (PPy) rough pore-shape polydimethylsiloxane (p-PDMS) device. An abrasive paper is first used to imprint rough micro-structures on the SU-8 micromold. The p-PDMS microchannel is then fabricated using a standard soft-lithography process.

Development of an indolicidin-derived peptide by reducing membrane perturbation to decrease cytotoxicity and maintain gene delivery ability.

Indolicidin (IL) is a cationic antimicrobial peptide and our previous study has demonstrated its potential as a cell penetrating peptide (CPP) to promote gene delivery. However, the cytotoxicity of IL arisen from its membrane perturbation capacity may restrict its clinical application. To promote gene delivery safety and efficiency, an almost mirror-symmetric IL derivative, SAP10 (RRWKFFPWRR-CONH), was designed in this study.

The development of an alginate/polycaprolactone composite scaffold for in situ transfection application.

Alginate and polycaprolactone (PCL) were coelectrospun using a dual-jet system to prepare composite nanofibers in defined ratios, and hence both chemical properties and hydrophobicity of scaffolds can be manipulated. These nanofibers were applied in gene immobilization: positively charged polyethyleneimine (PEI)/DNA polyplexes were adsorbed onto anionic alginate fibers, and the higher ratios of alginate resulted in the more immobilized nonviral vectors. Through the incorporation of PCL, biocompatibility of scaffolds was highly improved.

The Regulation of Osteogenesis Using Electroactive Polypyrrole Films.

To evaluate the effect of electrical conductivity of biomaterials on osteogenesis, polypyrrole (PPy) was fabricated by oxidative chemical polymerization as substrates for cell culture. Through adjusting the concentrations of monomer and initiator, polypyrrole films with different electrical conductivities were fabricated. These fabricated polypyrrole films are transparent enough for easy optical microscopy.

The control of cell orientation using biodegradable alginate fibers fabricated by near-field electrospinning.

For spatially controlling cell alignment, near field electrospinning (NFES) was developed to direct-write alginate fiber patterns. Compared to randomly electrospun fibers, NFES fibers guided the extension of HEK 293T cells and the levels of cell alignment increased with decreasing fiber distances. However, these guiding fibers were unfavorable for cell adhesion and limited cell growth.

The consideration of indolicidin modification to balance its hemocompatibility and delivery efficiency.

Indolicidin (IL) is an antimicrobial peptide (AMP), which has been utilized as a cell penetrating peptide (CPP) for drug delivery. However, the hemolysis restricts its clinical application. Therefore, we investigated the delivery efficiency and hemocompatibility of IL and its derivatives.

Electrophoretic deposition to promote layer-by-layer assembly for in situ gene delivery application.

In this study, layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of polyelectrolyte was facilitated using electric field assistance (EFA). To elucidate the EFA effects on polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs), the electric fields were solely administrated to either chitosan or DNA adsorption. Both DNA and chitosan adsorptions can be augmented under low electric field due to the electrophoretic deposition.

Toll-like receptor 6 and connective tissue growth factor are significantly upregulated in mitomycin-C-treated urothelial carcinoma cells under hydrostatic pressure stimulation.

Background: Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is the most common histologic subtype of bladder cancer. The administration of mitomycin C (MMC) into the bladder after transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (TURBT) is a common treatment strategy for preventing recurrence after surgery. We previously applied hydrostatic pressure combined with MMC in UC cells and found that hydrostatic pressure synergistically enhanced MMC-induced UC cell apoptosis through the Fas/FasL pathways.

Electrical stimulation to promote osteogenesis using conductive polypyrrole films.

In this study, we developed an electrical cell culture and monitoring device. Polypyrrole (PPy) films with different resistances were fabricated as conductive surfaces to investigate the effect of substrate-mediated electrical stimulation. The physical and chemical properties of the devices, as well as their biocompatibilities, were thoroughly evaluated.

The effect of alginate on DNA delivery from layer-by-layer assembled films.

Alginate has been previously utilized as an adjuvant in nanoparticle-mediated gene delivery. In this study, we investigated the extent to which alginate promotes in situ transfection from polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs). After spiking free alginate molecules, DNA release from PEMs was increased and transgene expression was enhanced, suggesting that alginate may compete with DNA to weaken electrostatic interaction within PEMs.

The regulation of DNA adsorption and release through chitosan multilayers.

To sustain transgene expression, chitosan was studied to immobilize DNA using layer-by-layer assembly to form polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs). Higher DNA concentrations and longer deposition periods demonstrated more DNA adsorptions to PEMs. By adjusting pH and the molecular weight of chitosan, PEM structures were manipulated.

A novel application of indolicidin for gene delivery.

A bovine derived antimicrobial peptide, indolicidin (IL), was studied of its new application for gene transfer. Plasmid DNA was complexed with both IL and polyethylenimine (PEI) as ternary particles. Compared to DNA/IL complexes, the DNA/IL/PEI particles demonstrated high zeta potentials, small particle sizes, and superior loading efficiencies, suggesting the incorporation of polycations can support IL for gene delivery.